Toledo, Ohio— The University of Toledo women's volleyball team played its final match of the season on Saturday afternoon, falling to Buffalo in five thrilling sets at Savage Arena.

The Bulls won sets one and three handily, but the Rockets pulled out a win in the second set and dominated the fourth to force a decisive fifth frame. In a back-and-forth abbreviated set, Toledo held a lead as late as 13-12. Buffalo scored twice to go up, 14-13, and UT appeared to tie the score at 14-14 after a UB attack error. However, the Bulls challenged the call and it was overturned, handing Buffalo its 15th point and the match.

Chlooe Kleespies led all comers with 19 kills and Zoe Birnbrich added 14 terminations while hitting .542. Maurissa Leonard tallied a match-high 28 digs and Carly Townsend was credited with 46 assists. Lynnea Clay was terrific in her final match, recording seven kills and three blocks, making several big plays for the Rockets. Andrea Stephenson (12) and Rhyen Neal (11) both cracked double-digits in digs for UT.

Prior to the match, the Rockets honored their five seniors: Lynnea Clay, Maurissa Leonard, Haley Sendelbach, Andrea Stephenson, and Carly Townsend, who all played their final match for the Midnight Blue and Gold on Saturday.

Set 1 (25-14, UB)
Buffalo came to play, starting off the first set by taking an 11-4 lead. That advantage reached double digits and put Toledo in a 17-6 hole rather quickly, from which it would not recover. The Rockets went on to lose, 25-23, and didn't share the lead at any point in the first set.

Set 2 (25-23, UT)
Whereas the first frame was one-sided, the second was the closest of the night. Neither squad could gain much footing on the other; Toledo took an 8-6 lead, but UB flipped the script and went up 12-10 with a quick 6-2 run. The set looked to be heading the way of the Bulls, who led 19-16 at one point, but Toledo stormed back to tie the score at 21-21. The Rockets scored four of the final five points to win 25-23, with the exclamation point coming on a kill from Elise Wilcox.

Set 3 (25-14, UB)
Set three followed a similar script as the first, though Toledo did take an early lead. After going up 3-1, the Rockets surrendered 11 of the next 12 points to fall behind 12-4. UT closed the gap to five, 16-11, but another Buffalo scoring binge buried Toledo with an 11-point deficit, 23-12. The third set was the worst for UT of the night in terms of hitting percentage.

Set 4 (25-15, UT)
Buffalo jumped out in front, 8-4, but it didn't stay that way for long. Four straight points from Toledo evened the score at 8-8, with the tying point coming on a service ace from Leonard. Buffalo hung around for a bit, tying the score at 12-12, but the Midnight Blue and Gold rattled off eight straight points to take its biggest lead of the night to that point, 20-12. The final score ended up 25-15, with the final point fittingly coming on a swing from Clay. She was terrific in the fourth set, tallying four kills and two blocks.

Set 5 (15-13, UB)
The fifth set was the best hitting set of the night for both teams, and set up what should have been a heart-stopping finish. Toledo took a 7-4 lead early on, but the Bulls fought back to tie things up at 10-10. The Rockets pulled ahead by a nose, 13-12, on a kill from Wilcox. Buffalo tied the set at 13-13, then took a one-point lead and was one score away from a win. Toledo appeared to tie it up at 14-14 after an attack error from UB, but after a coach's challenge the call was reversed, and the Bulls were handed a five-set win over the Rockets.